Women in the arts call for change at STL's Visionary Awards

This was the first year for the revived awards, which skipped 2014 after Grand Center Inc. withdrew its sponsorship. At the Sun Theater ceremony, many of the seven awardees took the podium to not only say “thanks” but to tell the crowd of more than 300 about their passions.

Remarks ranged from living-lessons in cultural diversity to quests to help erode the Delmar Divide.

Outstanding Arts Educator Ilene Berman called for “a First Night stage north of Delmar” and a “permanent home for the Black Repertory Theatre.”

Emerging Artist Shualee Cook urged people to leave their computers and TVs for a night of theater: “It’s a very brave thing to turn that light off and sit in the dark with strangers.”

Community Impact Artist Cecilia Nadal used her clothing to make a point about cross-cultural connections. An Afro-Latina, Nadal wore an outfit associated with another culture. “Some of you may be asking, ‘Why is that black woman wearing a sari?’ The answer is, 'Because I can.”

Local spoken word performer Cheeraz Gormon performed for the crowd.

St. Louis singer Denise Thimes and Sara Shepherd, understudy on Broadway for the lead role in the Carole King story, “Beautiful,” also sang a duet of "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.”

The 2015 Visionary Awards was organized by former award-winners, and spearheaded by Sara Burke and Kim Eberlein. Here's the full list of Visionary Award Winners:

When Cecilia Nadal of Gitana Productions heard about Michael Brown's shooting death, she raced right over to Ferguson. She wanted to participate in the protests and try to understand what happened, but she also “knew that I was looking for something."